Quinnipiac men’s hockey: Incoming freshman class is largest since 2009

By Chip Malafronte

Published
5:40 pm EDT, Tuesday, July 10, 2018

HAMDEN — It was by no means a disastrous season for the Quinnipiac men’s hockey team, which reached the ECAC Hockey quarterfinal round for the 13th time in 13 seasons.

But with two appearances in the national championship game in the past five years, the bar is set high in Hamden. So a losing record — the first since Rand Pecknold’s second season in 1995-96, when Quinnipiac was still a Division II program — doesn’t sit well with coaches and players.

Changes were made, most notably with the roster. The Bobcats parted ways with a handful of players that still had eligibility left while a 12-man recruiting class was engineered to fill immediate needs.

“Last year went nothing like we planned,” said Bill Riga, Quinnipiac’s associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. “It wasn’t acceptable by our standards. We felt we needed to do some things to evolve, things on the ice, tactically and with players.”

Quinnipiac lost five seniors to graduation. Forwards Logan Mick and Thomas Aldworth left the team midway through last season. In the weeks after the season ended, defenseman T.J. Brown, forwards Matt Forchuk, Devin Moore and Matthew Creamer left the program. Creamer transferred to Connecticut College; Moore is now at Trinity. Brown and Forchuck are in the process on finding new schools.

Also gone is defenseman John Furgele, a junior assistant captain who graduated and signed a pro contract.

Aside from Furgele, the only other regular among the departed was Forchuk, who played in 31 of 38 games. Moore saw action in 24 games, while Creamer and Brown played in a combined 10.

The incoming freshman class is Quinnipiac’s largest since bringing in 13 players in the fall of 2009, a group that, as seniors, helped the Bobcats to the 2013 national championship game.

But in the fickle recruiting game, quantity takes a back seat to quality.

Most every young player enters with a world of potential. Once in the program, it’s up to the individual. College hockey is demanding. Not everyone is willing to take advantage of the resources or put in the work necessary to fully develop.

The mix of veterans and freshman should make for an interesting locker room dynamic.

“You never really know, but last year’s juniors were some of our better leaders and now they can help a big freshman class get started the right way,” Riga said. “One of the things the youth brings in is the energy. They all want to be big parts if it right away. There’s a lot of enthusiasm and guys asking questions to older players and it creates communication and bonding. Together, you get a lot of cohesion. On the ice there will be growing pains at times, but there are enough veterans that have done well that can carry the mail until those other guys get their feet wet.”

Among those on their way to Hamden are Peter Diliberatore, a defenseman drafted in the sixth round by the Vegas Golden Knights last month. He’s a native of Nova Scotia who spent last winter in Connecticut playing at the Salisbury School and should factor into a starting position immediately.

Marcus Chorney, whose father and older brother, both North Dakota alums, played in the NHL, and Zach Metsa could also compete for playing time right away.

Chorney played for Amarillo of the NAHL last season. His father, Marc, played four seasons with the Penguins and Kings in the 1980s; brother Taylor played for the Capitols and Blue Jackets last season, his eighth in the NHL. Metsa had 23 assists and 27 points in the USHL last year.

Quinnipiac struggled to score points last season, but has several newcomers that should contribute at forward. Ethan De Jong, Desi Burgart, Wyatt Bongiovanni and Alex Fallstrom are all proven scorers who can help on that front.

De Jong, who turns 19 this week, had 17 goals, 46 assists and 63 points for Prince George of the British Columbia Hockey League. Burgart had 22-28-50 for Surrey of the BCHL.

Fallstrom of Stockholm, Sweden, is younger brother of former Harvard forward Alex Fallstrom. William scored 14-31-45 for Fargo of the USHL last year. Bongiovanni, a three-year veteran of the USHL, went 17-18-35 last winter.

Other forward recruits are Matthew Cassidy, who had 17-25-42 for Brooks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Fairfield native Daniel Winslow played three years at Avon Old Farms before hitting the Junior circuit, and was an all-star for the New Jersey Hitmen of the NCDC last season.

Two other BCHL recruits are T.J. Friedmann, who had 22 goals, 35 assists and 57 points for Victoria, and Michael Lombardi, a Rhode Island native who had 14-21-35 for West Kelowna.

Guus Van Nes, a native of the Netherlands, has improved his numbers over the past four seasons with the Boston Jr. Bruins, including 16-40-56 last year. He will be ineligible to compete in games this year because of transcript issues, but can attend classes and practice and will have four seasons to play in games starting in the fall of 2019.

“We’re excited,” Riga said. “These guys are going to want to restore to the program to what it was prior to last year. Our guys coming back, especially the seniors, are eager to do the same thing. They don’t want to leave on a down note, they want to get back to the Frozen Four like those before them did.”

cmalafronte

@nhregister.com

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